Hiding under all that roasted cauliflower is refried black beans, because a vegan taco isn’t any good without refried beans. There are a lot of vegan cauliflower tacos out there, I know, but most of them seem to be doused in hot sauce (not my thing) so I’ve gone for lots of spices and pickled onions for acidity.
I use my spelt tortillas for these and altogether, including the tortillas, it takes me about an hour from start to finish (you can’t get decent tortillas here). If you can buy tortillas it’s super quick, with mostly down time waiting for the cauliflower to roast.
I know it looks like a lot of ingredients when you look through the recipe, but it’s mostly spices, so don’t be put off. It’s not very much active time – only about 10 minutes, then 20 minutes in the oven – and then you get tacos!
The ingredient photo looks a bit different from the rest because I had different light for the pictures – shooting in the evening as we move into winter gets tricky.
Scroll to the bottom of the post or click “skip to recipe” above to see the recipe card with full ingredient measurements and instructions.
Ingredients
- A cauliflower
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Cumin
- Cayenne pepper
- Paprika
- Onion
- Garlic
- Black beans
- Tomatoes (fresh or canned)
- Swiss chard (or other greens, see substitutions)
- Lemon juice
- Spelt tortillas
- Pickled red onions
Method
Start by making the pickled onions if you don’t already have a batch made. They need at least an hour to rest. If you want to make your own tortillas, I mix the dough before I start the cauliflower and then multitask with frying the tortillas while prepping the other elements.
Prep the cauliflower, then add it to a large baking sheet with the oil and spices. Roast at 200C for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
While the cauliflower is in the oven, make the refried beans. Cook the onions briefly before adding the garlic, followed by the beans and spices. Stir in the tomatoes, then mash with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Taste and season as needed, then let this simmer over low heat while the cauliflower finishes up.
For the chard, add it to a bowl with the oil, vinegar, and spices, then use your hands to mix. Massage the greens a bit to soften them.
Assemble the tacos in the following order: refried beans at the bottom, then chard, cauliflower, pickled onions, and any other toppings.
Tips and Notes
For creamier refried beans, add a couple tablespoons of coconut cream after mashing everything up. You could add vegan cheese, too.
It won’t hurt the refried beans to rest in the pan for a little while. They can stay on very low heat, with the lid on, while everything else is finished up. You may need to simmer a little longer than the recipe states if using very juicy fresh tomatoes to reduce the water content a bit.
Cauliflower is in season (depending on the type grown) almost throughout the year depending on where you live. Here in zone 8-ish I can grow different varieties just about year round, so you can pair it with any number of seasonal toppings.
Substitutions
Pinto beans should really be used instead of the black beans, but they’re impossible to find here and black beans work well. You can also use kidney beans.
No chard? Use kale, spinach, or rucola. Or skip the massaging step and top with fresh greens. Baby spinach or lettuce work well for this, but in that case I recommend topping the taco instead of layering the greens inside.
Add any toppings you like and change it up based on the season. I used the very last of my garden tomatoes here as well as early chard, but anything you like on a taco will be great.
More Cauliflower Recipes
Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup
Cauliflower Tikka Masala
Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, and Chickpea Curry
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
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Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Refried Beans
Vegan cauliflower tacos filled with winter vegetables like chard and pickled red onions. Refried beans make up the base here and you won't miss the summery toppings usually served with tacos for this cold weather version.
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 medium head cauliflower (about 700g), cut into small florets
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
Refried Beans
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 300 grams (2 cups) cooked black beans
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) diced tomatoes, canned or fresh
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream (optional)
Swiss Chard
- 1 bunch swiss chard (about 100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For Assembly
- One batch spelt tortillas
- Pickled red onions
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).
- Place the cauliflower florets onto a large baking sheet. Add the oil, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix until the cauliflower is well coated.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden.
Refried Black Beans
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, or until softened and fragrant.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the beans, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to coat the beans in the spices.
- Stir in the tomatoes, then mash the mixture into a coarse paste with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Let it simmer over low heat while the cauliflower finishes cooking, but tip the lid if the tomatoes contained a lot of water.
- If you'd like, stir the coconut cream through the mixture once the refried beans are ready, and season to taste.
Swiss Chard
- De-stem and tear the chard into rough pieces. Place it into a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Use your hands to mix, massaging the leaves slightly, until the greens are softened and slightly wilted.
To Assemble
- Layer the fillings into the tortillas with refried beans first, followed by the chard, and then the cauliflower. Top with pickled onions and any other toppings you'd like and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 260Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 803mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 13gSugar: 6gProtein: 12g
This data is provided by a calculator and is a rough estimation of the nutritional information in this recipe. It does not include tortillas.
This post was originally published in February 2018. It has been updated with new photos and text, and some very small tweaks to the recipe, as of October 2020.
Alex says
Ooh, coconut cream in refried beans?? That's a novel idea, I like it! These look awesome 🙂
Diego Lopes says
Colorful! I've been looking for a good recipe for meatless tacos for a while now. THanks for that!
lena says
This was so good!! Healthy but super filling and fun, which is hard to achieve in a winter dish. I had pre-made my own recipe for pickled onions, with red wine vinegar and peppercorns, and this was the perfect way to have them. The beans really make this feel like a taco, although I didn’t use coconut cream, and the Swiss chard is unconventional but so delicious. That little bit of lemon on it is genius. I like a lot of strong flavour so I did use more spice on the cauliflower, and we experimented with adding some vegan sriracha mayo for dipping – which isn’t totally necessary because the dish is beautifully complex already, but tastes great. I’ll be making this again through the Australian winter for sure!
Jenae says
Looks delicious! I don’t see the ingredients for the pickled onions, though. Could you please provide them.
Alexandra says
Hi Jenae, the recipe for the pickled onions is linked in the ingredients list – you can find it here.